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Osteonectin influences growth and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine the expression and functional role of osteonectin in primary and metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). BACKGROUND: The glycoprotein osteonectin plays a vital role in cell-matrix interactions and is involved in various biologic processes. Overexpression of osteonectin is present in malignant tumors and correlates with disease progression and poor prognosis. METHODS: Expression of osteonectin was analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry in pancreatic tissues and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the serum of patients and donors. Recombinant osteonectin and specific antisense oligonucleotides were used to examine the effects of osteonectin on induction of target genes, and on proliferation and invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells. RESULTS: There was a 31-fold increase in osteonectin mRNA levels in PDAC and a 16-fold increase in chronic pancreatitis as compared with the normal pancreas (P < 0.01). By immunohistochemistry, faint immunoreactivity was detected in the normal pancreas. In contrast, strong staining of the cancer cells was observed in addition to extensive osteonectin immunoreactivity in surrounding fibroblasts and in the extracellular matrix. In metastatic tissues, strong immunoreactivity was observed in fibroblasts and in extracellular matrix surrounding metastatic cancer cells, whereas the signal was absent in most tumor cells. In vitro studies showed that osteonectin was able to inhibit cancer cell growth while promoting invasiveness of pancreatic tumor cells. CONCLUSION: Osteonectin is markedly overexpressed in pancreatic cancer and has the potential to increase the invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Characterization of human osteoblast and megakaryocyte-derived osteonectin (SPARC).

Osteonectin is an adhesive, cell, and extracellular matrix-binding glycoprotein found primarily in the matrix of bone and in blood platelets in vivo. Osteonectins isolated from these two sources differ with respect to the complexity of their constituent N-linked oligosaccharide. In this study, osteonectin synthesized by bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) and platelet-producing cells (megakaryocytes) in vitro was analyzed to determine if the proteins produced were analogous in terms of glycosylation to those isolated from bone and platelets, respectively. Immunoblot analyses of osteonectin produced by the osteoblast-like cell lines, SaOS-2 and MG-63, indicated that secreted and intracellular forms of the molecule are structurally distinct. Endoglycosidase treatment and immunoblotting of osteonectin secreted from SaOS-2 and MG-63 cells, under serum-deprived conditions, suggested that the molecule possessed a complex type oligosaccharide unlike the high-mannose moiety found on bone matrix-derived osteonectin. Biosynthetic labeling of SaOS-2 cells and human megakaryocytes indicated that both cell types synthesize osteonectin de novo. Electrophoretic and glycosidase sensitivity analyses of [35S]-osteonectin isolated from lysates of metabolically labeled SaOS-2 cells and megakaryocytes indicated that these two cell types synthesize osteonectin molecules that are identical in oligosaccharide structure to the isolated bone and platelet proteins. These data suggest that the intracellular form of the osteonectin molecule is glycosylated differently in SaOS-2 cells and megakaryocytes but that the extracellular form which is secreted from platelets in vivo and osteoblasts in vitro is characterized by the presence of a complex type N-linked oligosaccharide.

Adult↗

Biosynthesis of osteonectin by fetal porcine calvarial cells in vitro.

The biosynthesis of osteonectin, a major glycoprotein of bone, has been studied in vitro using bone cells from fetal porcine calvariae. The calvarial cells, which were shown to produce osteonectin by immunotransfer and immunocytochemical analysis, were pulse labeled with [35S]methionine and the radiolabeled osteonectin in the cell layers and in the chase-medium was isolated by specific immunoprecipitation. The osteonectin, representing 0.1% of the radiolabeled cell layer and 1% of the medium proteins, co-migrated with authentic bovine osteonectin on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reduced and nonreduced conditions (Mr approximately 40,000), and was bound selectively to hydroxyapatite in the presence of 4 M guanidine HCl. The co-migration of the osteonectins indicates that the tissue-extracted osteonectin represents an intact protein and that a pro- form of osteonectin is unlikely. However, a preosteonectin form (Mr approximately 46,000) could be immunoprecipitated from cell-free translation of calvarial mRNA. The minimal secretion time for osteonectin synthesized in serum-containing medium was found to be approximately 40 min but maximal accumulation did not occur until 2 h postlabeling. In serum-free media, extensive degradation of osteonectin, characterized by the presence of two immunoprecipitable fragments (Mr approximately 36,000 and 31,000), was evident.

Animals↗

Two collagen-binding proteins, osteonectin and HSP47, are coordinately induced in transformed keratinocytes by heat and other stresses.

pSE48 was one of six clones selected by differential colony hybridization as a cDNA coding for mRNA expressed in parietal endoderm-like F9 cells and not in primitive endoderm-like F9 cells. It was sequenced and identified as a segment of mouse osteonectin (SPARC) cDNA. We found osteonectin to be heat-inducible in some cells. Expression and secretion of osteonectin were then investigated using mouse (Pam 212) and human (HSC-1) keratinocyte cell lines. Both the mRNA levels and the secretion of osteonectin increased concurrently when Pam and HSC-1 cells cultured in low calcium medium were exposed to various stresses including heat shock and treatment with sodium arsenite or L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid. Another collagen-binding stress protein, HSP47, was also found to be expressed, synthesized, and stress-inducible in the keratinocyte cell line. The degree of HSP47 induction by various stresses was not so prominent as that of HSP70 but greater than that of osteonectin. The time courses of osteonectin and HSP47 induction by heat shock were similar to each other and distinct from HSP70; they were slower and more persistent than HSP70. We identified a heat shock element-like sequence in the promoter region of the mouse and bovine osteonectin genes. This sequence might participate in the stress induction of osteonectin. Thus, osteonectin and HSP47 share another common feature, stress-inducibility, as well as collagen-binding capacity and inducibility through differentiation, although they are quite distinct in their amino acid sequence and distribution.

Animals↗

Trafficking of osteonectin by retinal pigment epithelial cells: evidence for basolateral secretion.

Osteonectin is a glycoprotein that modulates several aspects of cellular behaviour including proliferation and adhesion. The retinal pigment epithelium forms a continuous monolayer of polarised cells immediately bellow the neuroretina, and is integral to the homeostasis of photoreceptor cells. While osteonectin is expressed by normal retinal pigment epithelium in situ, its expression is significantly increased in retinal pigment epithelial cells associated with several common retinal diseases. This pattern of expression implies an important role for osteonectin in the biology of retinal pigment epithelial cells. However, the trafficking, processing, and eventual fate of osteonectin in these cells is not clear at present. Although the theoretical report of a leader sequence within the osteonectin open reading frame and its extracellular presence in some tissues indirectly support secretion of the protein, there is no direct experimental demonstration of the secretion route to date. As a first step towards understanding the role of osteonectin in retinal pigment epithelium, we studied the intracellular distribution and trafficking of the protein in living cells. Here, we present experimental evidence that a precursor osteonectin fusion protein is targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi pathway, with a likely basal secretion in retinal pigment epithelial cells. In addition, we show that the precursor osteonectin protein having the leader sequence masked fails to undergo secretion leading to cell death, a phenotype which may be of relevance not only for retinal pathology, but also for other diseases such as the bone disorder known as pseudoachondroplasia that is associated with a lack of osteonectin secretion.

Achondroplasia↗

Osteonectin expression correlates with clinical outcome in thin cutaneous malignant melanomas.

Osteonectin, also termed BM40 or SPARC (secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine) is a multifunctional glycoprotein involved in tissue mineralization, cell-extracellular matrix interactions as well as angiogenesis. It has been suggested that osteonectin may play a key role in the process of tumoral invasion and metastasis in certain malignancies. In this study, we reviewed the clinical records and the histopathologic slides of 188 thin cutaneous malignant melanomas (< or = 0.75 mm). Among them, 12 cases underwent progression and were selected for the study. Osteonectin expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry in these 12 patients and 24 matched controls who did not undergo progression. Osteonectin staining was correlated with clinical outcome and other clinicopathologic parameters. Progression-free and disease-specific survival rates were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method and their differences were evaluated by the log rank test. Overall, immunoreactivity for osteonectin was found in 23 (63.8%) cases. Eighteen cases (50%) displayed staining in 1% to 50% of neoplastic cells whereas five cases (13.8%) showed a diffuse positivity in more than 50% of the tumor cells. Osteonectin expression was significantly correlated with risk of progression (P = .01), incidence of distant metastases (P = .005) and survival (P = .03). There was a higher incidence of osteonectin-positive tumors in cases that did experience regional lymph node metastases versus those cases that did not, but that difference did not reach statistical significance (P = .06). No significant correlation was found between osteonectin expression and other clinicopathologic features, including age, sex, site, histotype, Clark's level, presence of regression, presence of inflammatory response, and tumor growth phase. Our data showed that osteonectin expression is a predictor of clinical outcome in thin cutaneous melanomas.

Adult↗

Spatially and temporally different expression of osteonectin and osteopontin in the infarct zone of experimentally induced myocardial infarction in rats.

Osteonectin and osteopontin, two secreted matricellular proteins, have a variety of functions that are exerted through interaction with matrix components. These proteins appear in response to tissue injury. To test our hypothesis that osteopontin and osteonectin are expressed with spatially and temporally different patterns in myocardial infarct tissue, we investigated osteonectin and osteopontin expression in experimentally induced myocardial infarction in rats, in comparison with Type I collagen expression. Northern blotting demonstrated that osteonectin mRNA did not markedly increase on Day 2 after the infarction, but it increased on Days 7 and 14 by 1.7+/-0.12- and 1.8+/-0.01-fold compared to that in preligation hearts. In contrast, osteopontin mRNA was increased on Day 1 (41.9+/-11.3-fold increase) and on Day 2 (58.3+/-7.6-fold increase), and then it declined on Days 7 and 14 (24.8+/-9.0- and 13.5+/-4.7-fold increase, respectively). In situ hybridization revealed that osteonectin mRNA signals were observed in fibroblasts, myofibroblasts and macrophages around infarct necrotic tissue on Days 7 and 14. Osteopontin mRNA signals were observed in macrophages in the infarct marginal zone on Day 2. Immunopositive staining for both osteonectin and osteopontin showed the same pattern as that obtained by in situ hybridization. The time course of osteonectin mRNA was almost parallel with that of Type I collagen mRNA, while that of osteopontin was not. These results demonstrated spatially and temporally different expression patterns of osteonectin and osteopontin in myocardial infarction and suggest that osteonectin appears to be involved in the pathological course in the late phase after infarction concomitantly with Type I collagen, while osteopontin may play a role in the early phase.

Animals↗

Characterization of porcine osteonectin extracted from foetal calvariae.

Osteonectin, extracted from foetal porcine calvariae with 0.5 M-EDTA, was purified to homogeneity by using gel filtration and polyanion anion-exchange fast protein liquid chromatography under dissociative conditions without the need of reducing agents. The purified protein migrated with an Mr of 40,300 on SDS/polyacrylamide gels and was similar to bovine osteonectin in both amino acid composition and in its ability to bind to hydroxyapatite in the presence of 4 M-guanidinium hydrochloride (GdmCl). However, unlike the bovine protein, porcine osteonectin did not bind selectively to hydroxyapatite when EDTA tissue extracts were used. In addition, purified porcine osteonectin did not show any apparent affinity for either native or denatured type I collagen, but did bind to serum albumin. Primary sequence analysis revealed an N-terminal alanine residue, with approximately one-half of the subsequent 35 residues identified as small hydrophobic amino acids and one-quarter as acidic amino acids. The only significant difference between the N-terminal sequences of the bovine and porcine proteins was the deletion of the tripeptide Val-Ala-Glu in porcine osteonectin. In contrast with bovine osteonectin, far-u.v.c.d. of porcine osteonectin revealed considerable secondary structure, of which 27% was alpha-helix and 39% was beta-sheet. Cleavage of the molecule with CNBr under non-reducing conditions generated five fragments, of which two major fragments (Mr 27,900 and 12,400) stained blue with Stains All, a reagent that stains sialic-acid-rich proteins/phosphate-containing proteins and/or Ca2+-binding proteins blue while staining other proteins pink. The 12,400-Mr fragment bound 45Ca2+ selectively, indicating a Ca2+-binding site in this part of the molecule. The 27,900-Mr fragment did not bind Ca2+, and since biosynthetic studies with 32PO4(3-) did not show phosphorylation of porcine osteonectin, this fragment is likely to be highly acidic. The incomplete cleavage of the molecule with CNBr and the ability of the molecule to regain its secondary structure after exposure to 7 M-urea are features consistent with the molecule having a compact structure that is stabilized by numerous disulphide bridges. The chemical and binding properties of porcine osteonectin are closely similar to the recently described 'culture shock', SPARC and BM-40 proteins, indicating that these are homologous proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Differential modulation of cell adhesion by interaction between adhesive and counter-adhesive proteins: characterization of the binding of vitronectin to osteonectin (BM40, SPARC).

Heparin-binding forms of vitronectin, a multifunctional adhesive glycoprotein, are associated with the extracellular matrix (ECM) at different locations in the body and serve to promote cell adhesion and the regulation of pericellular proteolysis at sites of angiogenesis. In the present study we characterized the interactions of vitronectin with the counter-adhesive protein osteonectin (also termed SPARC or BM40). Osteonectin and vitronectin were both found associated with the ECM of cultured endothelial cells and were localized in vessel wall sections of kidney tissue. In vitro, the heparin-binding multimeric isoform of vitronectin bound to immobilized osteonectin in a saturable manner with half-maximal binding at 30-40 nM. Preincubation of plasma vitronectin with plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), which provoked multimer formation, induced the binding of vitronectin to osteonectin. Binding was optimal at physiological ionic strength, and binary complexes were stabilized by tissue transglutaminase-mediated cross-linking. In a concentration-dependent fashion, PAI-1, CaCl2, heparin and heparan sulphate, but not other glycosaminoglycans, interfered with the binding of vitronectin to osteonectin. Using vitronectin-derived synthetic peptides as well as mutant forms of recombinant osteonectin, we found that the heparin-binding region of vitronectin interacted with the C-terminal region of osteonectin that contains a high-affinity Ca2+-binding site with counter-adhesive properties. Adhesion of cultured endothelial cells was partly abrogated by osteonectin and was correspondingly reversed by vitronectin in a concentration-dependent manner. These results indicate that specific interactions between vitronectin and osteonectin modulate cell adhesion and might thereby regulate endothelial cell function during angiogenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Osteonectin is a minor component of mineralized connective tissues in rat.

Osteonectin is a major glycoprotein of porcine and bovine bones and teeth that is found associated with hydroxylapatite crystal surfaces. From the ability of osteonectin to bind calcium ions, it has been proposed as a possible nucleator of hydroxylapatite crystal formation. Analysis of hydroxylapatite-bound proteins of rat bone and dentine, however, has revealed that osteonectin represents only 2.5 +/- 1.5% of the hydroxylapatite-bound protein in long bones, 0.9 +/- 0.5% in calvariae, and less than 0.1% in incisor dentine of animals of different ages. Further, in vivo pulse-chase studies carried out in young adult rats have shown osteonectin to be synthesized at low levels in these tissues. Similarly, low levels of osteonectin were synthesized by rat calvarial cells in vitro. In contrast, fibroblastic cells from periodontal ligament and gingiva synthesized significantly greater amounts of osteonectin. These studies indicate that the low quantities of osteonectin in rat mineralized tissues are a consequence of low rates of formation rather than being due to rapid turnover. The virtual absence of osteonectin in incisor dentine correlates with the lack of peritubular dentine in rat, whereas the low osteonectin content of rat bones may reflect differences in their structure and biophysical properties compared with bones of larger mammals.

Animals↗

Osteonectin is an alpha-granule component involved with thrombospondin in platelet aggregation.

We previously showed that thrombospondin, a major alpha-granule glycoprotein of human platelets, forms a specific complex with osteonectin, a phosphoglycoprotein originally described in bone that is also present in human platelets. The storage organelles and the function of osteonectin in platelets are still unknown. In this study, using electron microscopy in combination with immunogold staining, the major storage organelle for platelet-secreted proteins, the alpha-granules. Furthermore, osteonectin was qualitatively and quantitatively assessed by studying normal platelets and the platelets from a patient with gray platelet syndrome. Gray platelet syndrome is a rare congenital bleeding disorder characterized by a selective deficiency in morphologically recognizable platelet alpha-granules and in the alpha-granule secretory proteins. Binding of an iodinated antiosteonectin monoclonal antibody to gray platelet proteins transferred to nitrocellulose from SDS-polyacrylamide gels showed no band corresponding to osteonectin compared to control platelets. Using a polyclonal antiosteonectin antibody-based radioimmunoassay, gray platelets contained 0.2 +/- 0.03 ng osteonectin per 10(6) platelets, which is only 20% of the normal platelet content of osteonectin (0.93 +/- 0.16 ng per 10(6) platelets). Study of the localization of osteonectin to the surface of human platelets demonstrated that a radioiodinated antiosteonectin polyclonal antibody bound specifically to thrombin-stimulated platelets but not to resting platelets. Binding was concentration-dependent, saturable (1710 +/- 453 binding sites per platelet, Kd = 1 microM), and inhibited by an excess of cold antiosteonectin polyclonal antibody. No binding was observed on the surface of thrombin-stimulated gray platelets. To gain further insights into the role of osteonectin released from activated platelets, the effect of an antiosteonectin polyclonal antibody was tested on the aggregation of washed platelets. F(ab')2 fragments from the antiosteonectin polyclonal antibody inhibited in a dose-dependent manner the aggregation of collagen-stimulated, washed human platelets without affecting collagen-induced platelet serotonin release. To characterize the mechanism through which antiosteonectin F(ab')2 fragments inhibit platelet aggregation, the expression of endogenous thrombospondin (TSP) on the surface of thrombin-activated platelets was studied using 125I-labeled anti-TSP monoclonal antibody P10. The endogenous surface expression of TSP to thrombin-stimulated platelets was significantly inhibited in the presence of antiosteonectin F(ab')2 fragments (6286 +/- 2065 molecules of P10 per platelet) compared to 11,230 +/- 766 molecules of P10 per platelet in the presence of nonimmune F(ab')2 fragments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗

Histogenesis of clear cell chondrosarcoma. An immunohistochemical study with osteonectin, a non-collagenous structure protein.

The histogenesis of clear cell chondrosarcoma is still unclear: Apart from typical clear cell tumor areas, extensive production of woven bone formation suggests within the clear cell cartilagenous stroma is an intriguing phenomenon. Three cases of clear cell chondrosarcoma documented in the Bone Tumor Registry of Westphalia were examined for their patterns of osteonectin expression, and compared with other bone tumors of either osseous or cartilaginous origin, and with normal cartilage tissue. Found predominantly in osseous structures, the protein osteonectin takes part in the formation of new bone. The three clear cell chondrosarcomas showed a strong immunoexpression of osteonectin in clear cell, chondroid and in osseous tumor areas. Similarly, evidence of osteonectin was also found in osteoblastic and in chondroblastic osteosarcomas as well as in osteoblastomas. In contrast, osteonectin could not be demonstrated in the chondrosarcomas and mesenchymal chondrosarcomas from our registry that were analysed for comparison, and was found only minimally in the fibroblastic areas of dedifferentiated chondrosarcomas. The chondroblastic tumor components were always negative. There was no immunoexpression of osteonectin either in fetal or adult intervertebral disc tissue. The present immunohistochemical study of osteonectin has distinctly separated clear cell chondrosarcoma from the other variants of chondrosarcoma, and aptly verified the specificity of this entity. Moreover, the study would call for further histogenetic evaluation of clear cell chondrosarcoma, since the pattern of osteonectin expression in that tumor seems to indicate an osteogenic rather than a chondrogenic origin.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Changes in osteonectin distribution and levels are associated with mineralization of the chicken tibial growth cartilage.

Osteonectin is a calcium-binding matrix protein thought to play a role in regulating calcium distribution in a variety of biologic processes. To examine its role in endochondral bone formation, we examined the distribution of the protein during mineralization of the chicken tibial growth cartilage, using immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy. The synthesis of osteonectin was also determined in chondrocyte populations isolated from premineralizing and mineralizing regions of growth cartilage and assayed in short-term culture. The results show that a very low level of osteonectin is detectable in the resting, proliferating, and early hypertrophic zones of growth cartilage; in these zones, osteonectin is largely cell-associated. In contrast, a large amount of osteonectin is present in the mineralizing zone where it is associated with the matrix. Biosynthetic data from short-term culture experiments indicate, however, that osteonectin is synthesized and secreted by chondrocytes from both premineralizing and mineralizing zones. As indicated by immunoprecipitation, Northern hybridization, in vitro translation of hybrid-selected messenger RNA (mRNA), and electrophoretic analysis, osteonectin synthesized by chondrocytes of the premineralizing zones is not obviously different in structure from that synthesized by chondrocytes of the mineralizing zone. We conclude that osteonectin is a product of chondrocytes in each zone of growth cartilage but accumulates only in the mineralizing zone. The high affinity of the protein for calcium could favor its retention in calcifying matrix.

Animals↗

Epitope mapping of two monoclonal antibodies to the central portion of human osteonectin.

In this study preliminary characterization of two monoclonal antibodies against osteonectin was undertaken. One monoclonal originally raised against bovine bone osteonectin cross reacts with human bone and platelet osteonectin. The other monoclonal antibody has been reported to react with osteonectin derived from human bone and bovine bone but not to the same extent with that from platelets. Initial mapping of the antigenic determinants for both monoclonals was done by testing their ability to bind to the expressed forms of osteonectin in two overlapping SaOS-2 lambda gt11 osteonectin cDNA clones. One clone contains a 0.54 kb insert and is comprised of 50 nucleotides of 5' noncoding and a coding segment for a 17 amino acid signal peptide and 146 amino acids of the N-terminal region of the mature protein. The other clone has a 1.9 kb insert, and includes amino acid no. 18 to the C-terminus of the molecule (amino acid no. 286), a single termination codon, and 1115 nucleotides of 3' noncoding sequence. Both monoclonals recognized expressed osteonectin from the two lambda gt11 SaOS-2 cDNA clones. These results localize the epitope to a region between amino acids 18-146 of osteonectin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Osteonectin inhibiting de novo formation of apatite in the presence of collagen.

The effect of bone matrix protein of osteonectin on de novo formation of apatite was studied in a wide range of calcium phosphate solutions in the presence of collagen. In every solution, from which amorphous calcium phosphate, octacalcium phosphate, or apatite precipitated as a possible initial phase, osteonectin at concentrations less than 1 microM retarded the precipitation, subsequent transformation to apatite, and ripening crystal growth of apatite. Collagen present as either reconstituted or denatured form had no effect on the osteonectin-associated reactions as well as osteonectin-free reactions, and no structural correlation was observed between collagen fibrils and any of the calcium phosphates that appeared in our system. Direct measurement of free calcium levels in the solutions suggested that the reduction in calcium activity due to complexing with osteonectin hardly explained the inhibitory activity of osteonectin in retarding the formation of apatite. Instead, our transmission electron microscopic (TEM) observation strongly suggested that the primary mechanism for osteonectin to inhibit the formation of apatite is to block growth sites of calcium phosphates nucleated. The apatite thus formed in the presence of osteonectin showed less resolved X-ray diffraction patterns, partly because of smaller crystallites as suggested by TEM.

Animals↗

The impact of osteonectin for differential diagnosis of osteogenic bone tumors: an immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization approach.

Thirty-three osteosarcomas at various grades of histologic differentiation, including chondroblastic, osteoblastic, and fibroblastic variants, were investigated immunohistochemically for evidence of osteonectin. Twenty-two cases of varying types of osteosarcoma were examined with in situ hybridization for mRNA expression of osteonectin. Immunohistochemically, osteonectin was present in all the osteosarcomas in this study. With in situ hybridization, 12 out of 22 osteosarcomas showed a positive signal. Two osteochondrosarcomas, seven chondrosarcomas, and one mesenchymal chondrosarcoma were also studied with regard to the localization of osteonectin, either immunohistochemically or by in situ hybridization. Immunohistochemically, osteonectin was present in all the chondroid lesions except for one osteochondroma. However, in situ hybridization of osteonectin mRNA was negative in all the chondroid lesions we studied. This study revealed that immunohistochemical localization of osteonectin is not useful in providing conclusive diagnosis of osteosarcoma. In situ hybridization of osteonectin mRNA might be useful in differentiating osteosarcoma from nonsteogenic bone tumors.

Antisense Elements (Genetics)↗

Circulating levels of osteonectin in normal subjects and patients with thrombocytopenia.

In order to clarify the relative contributions of activated platelets and other sources to circulating osteonectin, the amounts of osteonectin present in serum and in plasma prepared without significant platelet activation were compared to platelet count in normal subjects and patients with various degrees of thrombocytopenia. Serum osteonectin showed a logarithmic positive correlation with platelet count (r = 0.87, P less than 0.0001, n = 52). Osteonectin concentration was significantly lower in plasma than in matched sera in all subjects sampled, and not significantly different in plasma of thrombocytopenic and normal subjects. These results confirm the major contribution of platelets to serum osteonectin. The positive zero intercept of the plot osteonectin vs. platelet count (19 +/- 2.45 ng/ml, mean +/- SD, P less than 0.0001, n = 52) and the presence of significant amounts of osteonectin in plasma, document the existence of a basic level of circulating osteonectin, independent of platelet activation, and to which the relative contribution of bone remains to be assessed.

Adult↗

Gene expression and immunohistochemical localization of osteonectin in association with early bone formation in the developing mandible.

We have compared the expression of osteonectin with that of osteocalcin and bone sialoprotein during bone formation in the rat mandible, using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Expression of osteonectin, osteocalcin and bone sialoprotein mRNAs were first observed in newly differentiated osteoblasts of the developing mandible at embryonic day 15 (E15) and subsequently increased with the number of osteoblasts through E20. Definitive osteonectin immunostaining was observed in newly differentiated osteoblasts, but not in the intercellular unmineralized matrix. Immunostaining for osteocalcin and bone sialoprotein was visible in osteoblasts and unmineralized matrix. Concomitant with the initiation of matrix mineralization at E16, mineralized bone matrix showed osteocalcin and bone sialoprotein immunostaining, but lacked osteonectin immunostaining. The same staining profile was observed during subsequent phases of bone formation at E17-20. However, sequential demineralization with ethanolic trimethylammonium EDTA and protease digestion of tissue sections demonstrated prominent osteonectin immunostaining of the mineralized bone matrix. Western blot analysis of osteonectin in extracts of fresh specimens at E18 and 20 revealed that an EDTA extract contains osteonectin having M, approximately 50 kDa. These results indicate that newly differentiated osteoblasts synthesize and secrete osteonectin, which is mainly incorporated into the mineralized bone matrix and becomes a specific component of developing manibula of foetal rats.

Animals↗